


Taking Care

by Apetslife



Category: Popslash
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-03
Updated: 2012-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/331995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apetslife/pseuds/Apetslife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joey got his leg trapped in a spring-door in a stage floor, and it got pretty mangled.  JC spent the rest of the shoot taking care of him.  All that is canon; this story is where my imagination started filling in the gaps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Care

After the bellboy dropped his bags and closed the door, the room was quiet; wood paneling and muted colors and just a sigh of traffic noise from the street outside. Pretty nice, actually, with a wide low bed that he could swing himself into and out of without too much strain. Maybe it was the Percodans, maybe that little wash of sound that made everything seem more still, but suddenly all he wanted to do was sleep. For maybe a hundred years, or at least until his leg stopped hurting with this constant medium-grade throb and ache that made his jaw clench and his muscles tighten. This sucked. This FUCKING sucked. _*Jesus, why now? The first video, almost the first show, could the timing be ANY worse? And here I am, all jacked up and miserable. Where the hell did that fucker put my pills?*_

He could hear a murmur of voices from next door, and tried to hobble to the bed quietly. He did not need any more TLC from the boys tonight. Justin had been useless, ricocheting around and babbling in that little-boy way he still had when he wasn't trying to be Very Grown Up. Chris had practiced his classic avoidance technique; he didn't like it when any of them were hurt or sick, and had no idea how to deal, so he just kind of disappeared. Lance had been better, but a bit distant, helping Joey off the plane when they finally got to LA, making sure his carry-on got carried off too, and patting him on the back comfortingly as he was whisked away to meet with yet another doctor. And JC...

JC had almost broken his own leg getting to Joey's side when Joey had gone down screaming on the practice stage, and had had to be pried away from Joey to get him alone ever since. Those long hands had been fluttering by his face, stroking his shoulder as they waited for the ambulance, holding his shirt against the gash until the paramedics shooed him away. _*Which was pretty decent of JC, actually, considering the way he feels about blood.*_ JC was a sweetheart, but Joey already HAD a mother, thank you, and if Jace had offered him one more pillow on the plane...God. He wasn't supposed to be fussed over. He was NEVER fussed over. Joey was the one who was never sick, never injured, never down or out or anywhere near it. Except now, apparently. Dammit. He settled himself on the bed gingerly, sighing in relief, and *oh crap!* let the cane fall to the floor with an audible THUD.

 _*Yup. Right on cue*_ A shaggy head poked around the doorframe, grinned blindingly at him, and withdrew. He could hear JC in the hallway, "Joey's here, guys, he's back!" and he just sighed, and propped his leg higher.

They came tumbling into the room, and for a brief wistful instant Joey wished he was in a GIRLband, because didn't girls know how to act when someone was sick? Justin bounced onto the bed with him, laughing, making him wince at the jar. Chris was chattering away at Lance, though he stopped to hug Joey briefly before heading to the tv. Lance had a cellphone in his hand and was already punching in numbers. And JC was just standing there quiet, smiling at him. *Huh. Maybe JC's actually a girl! That would explain so much...* He smiled back at JC, and reached for his pain meds. This was gonna be a rough evening, he could already tell.

***

Joey was in a happy daze, Chris could see it in the way his eyes were half-lidded and his hands were lying open and relaxed on his lap. Chris couldn't tell if it was the pain pills or the fact that JC was rubbing his feet. Jace was rubbing his feet. Chris shook his head. C had tried to explain it to them after his original offer had been met with horror on all sides, telling them that reflexology was a traditional method of pain control, that the nerve endings in the feet were very sensitive, that it was just like offering to give him an ADVIL, dammit; but JC's ability to string together a coherent sentence was borderline at the best of times, and Justin's laughter had flustered him. Joey had finally taken pity on his stammering and blushing and nodded at him, though he'd still looked deeply suspicious.

Not any more. _*I wonder if Jace will rub my feet next?*_

"Jace, will you rub my feet next?" He was sprawled on the bed by Joey's hip, his chin propped on his hands, watching as Joey melted into a puddle of very happy goo.

"No." JC watched his own hands as he dug a knuckle into the arch of one long foot, and Joey whimpered a little. Joey had surprisingly elegant feet.

_*That's not fair. Does JC like Joey better or something? Duh, Chris.*_

"That's not fair. Do you like Joey better'n me?"

"No, Chris, but you don't have staples in your leg."

_*Sure, JC, you just keep telling yourself that. That looks like it feels really good. Joey's almost asleep.*_

"That looks like it feels really good, C. I think he's falling asleep." And Chris was very proud that he wasn't giving JC a hard time. Last time he'd done it, when JC had insisted that Joey get a solo on the song they might release as the third single, Joey had smacked him, and Joey had big hands and had grown up with brothers and he smacked hard.

"Yeah." JC smiled, the crinkly-eyed, head-ducking one that made him shine. "I told you. Just like an Advil."

Chris looked at Joey's heavy, pleasure-drugged eyes, and thought, _maybe not just like Advil._

***

 _*Gotta find JC, find JC, find JC, sittin' in a tree, woe is me, where's JC? Find JC-* J_ ustin stopped humming abruptly as he stared at Joey's bed. There was JC, all right. One arm wrapped around Joey, his head near Joey's waist, one of Joey's hands tangled in his ridiculous hair. Both sleeping like the dead. Justin had never noticed before, but JC curled up real small while he was sleeping, so he looked like a cat or something that Joey had picked up.

"JC!" He whispered loudly, gently touching a thin shoulder. "JC, get up!"

"Hng." Joey batted at him, turned onto his side, frowning in his sleep, curling around JC.

Justin did not have time for this foolishness. They needed to get to the set!

"JC, wake UP!"

One blue eye cracked at him. JC burrowed back into Joey, closed his eye again, sighed blissfully.

_*Oh brother. They look all comfy. I wouldn't want to get up either. But we gotta get to the SHOOT!*_

"Come on, you guys, don't make me go get Chris. I'll go get Chris. I'll go get Chris and a water balloon. Come ON, JC, wake UP!" He was shaking JC now.

"OUCH, you brat, you're HURTING me!" Full Fatone glare, even this early in the morning.

_*Great, crabby Joey. Where are his pills?*_

"Joe, take a pill. Come on, quit looking at me like that. Help me wake up JC. JC, JC, JACE!!! Come ON! We have to be on the set, like, five minutes ago! Chris and Lance are leaving now. Come on. JC, PLEEEASE?" JC had apparently found a way to get his hands over his ears without fully waking up, and was completely ignoring Justin, who by now was almost dancing with impatience.

"JESUS, Justin. Shut UP! I'll get him up." Joey reached for one of JC's fingers, drew his hand gently away from his ear. Ran fingers through his hair, pulling just a little. "C'mon, JC, rise and shine. Wake up now."

To Justin's everlasting astonishment, JC lifted a bleary head from the comforter.

"Joe? Justin? Wht?"

"Come on." Justin pulled JC to his feet, pliant now if still totally groggy. "We gotta get you dressed. We have to do the shoot today, C." He started drawing him to the door.

"Wait...Joe?...whutabout..." JC pulled back a little, looking over his shoulder. Justin tugged. JC weighed NOTHING now.

"S'okay, C, we'll call him from the set. Come ON. We're gonna be late."

Justin closed the door behind him, and hauled a still-protesting JC down the hallway to his own room. This last-minute-JC-ness was at least familiar. This wouldn't take much time at all.

_*Gotta get to the shoot, find JC's boot, it's gonna be a hoot, time for the shoot, Justin's so good--wait, that doesn't rhyme.*_

***

Lance had his head in his hands. It was nice there. Dark. He hadn't been able to see JC's face when they'd told him that Wade was filling in for Joey. He could imagine, though. Sad, and hurt, and kind of bewildered. Life had been confusing for JC lately, what with Wade getting more time on the album than he did, and this thing he had for Joey, and the tour starting without the album being out, and Lance didn't know how to help him.

"But...how can someone fill in for Joey?" Lance thought it might have been the third time he'd asked. _*Careful, C, or Wayne's gonna start to wonder about you, kid.*_

Wayne's voice always softened when he talked to JC. Everyone's did, Lance noticed, like JC was something a little fragile, that had to be treated a bit more carefully. And Wayne was the least careful person Lance knew.

"JC, we're just shooting the action sequences with Wade. Long shots only. We'll get Joe in here for the closeups, but you know he can't leave the room today. It'll be ok. I swear." He patted JC's shoulder and wandered off to yell at someone carrying a rack of lights.

JC looked at Lance. Lance looked at JC. He could hear Chris screeching at Justin somewhere off among the trailers. He didn't say anything. What could he say?

***

_*This camera is silly. Chris is taping his own face a lot, I'll bet that'll make the program. Chris is funny. And Justin's trying to be deep again. Does he even know what 'Trumanesque' means? I don't think so, Jup. And where's Joey? I miss Joey. Wade's just not the same. Oh, look, there's the MTV cameras again. They want me to say something about Joe? OK. I can do that. Right? Where are the guys, they don't usually let me do interviews alone. Ever since that medicinal marijuana thing. But I DO think it's ok, if it's for a disease or something, because it's natural, right? It has to be better for you than chemicals, right? And it's not like I was telling the youth of America to go out and get stoned every night or anything, though that might actually cut down on violence and stuff. Especially now that all these kids are getting guns now. That's always just so shocking. I wonder if we could do a PSA or something? Wait, what was I saying? Oh, right, Joey. I miss Joey.*_

***

_*GOD this is boring. I'm almost willing to let MTV come back in here, this is so boring. Nah. They filmed me getting a shot in the ass, the fuckers. They'd better not show that shit.*_

Discovery. TLC. VH-1. Disney. _*Oooh, Duck Tales! The end. Fuck.*_ USA. HBO. Starz. Cinemax. Skinemax? No such luck. Showtime. Food Network. Animal Planet. ABC. NBC. CBS. MTV. Discovery. TLC.

"FUUUUCK! I wanna be DANCING!"

***

Justin was talking about Meaning and Purpose again, looking earnestly into the camera, and Lance, with great effort, kept his eyes from rolling RIGHT out of his head. _*Oh, my good good Lord, somebody please shut him up.*_ He was on break from one of the five billion costume changes they were going through. It was taking hours. Literally. They'd been at it for FOUR HOURS, with at least two to go. If Lance allowed himself to curse, he'd have been putting a sailor to shame by now.

He did feel a little bad for Justin, though. Ju was trying so very hard not to be pretty, not to be young, not to be what, basically, every non-goth teenaged girl _*and not a few boys*_ in America wanted him to be. The shaved head, the unfortunate chin scruff, the pseudo-intellectual statements. It was wierd, not having Joey around to nudge when Justin did something really unbelievably pretentious, so they could mock him together. Chris just didn't have the attention span, and was off chasing a pigeon that had gotten into the soundstage or something. JC was utterly wiped, slumped over there in a chair, all bones and hair and loosely sprawled limbs. And Lance himself was not at his best, considering the number of times he'd had to strip that damn tan shirt on and off and on.

Couldn't they just go home?

***

Oh, thank god, back to the hotel, because Chris was really about to lose his mind, and he was pretty sure that Jim the lighting guy was looking for him to kill him. He hadn't MEANT to run over his cellphone in the golf cart. Really!

Lance looked pale and weary. He was all buff now, but Chris knew he STILL didn't hold up that well to doing the same dance, over and over and over again, and even though his arms were big, that didn't mean his constitution was any better. Chris slipped an arm around his shoulders, grateful as always that Lance hadn't gotten past 5'10". Worrying about Lance was normal and comfy, and was much more ok than worrying about Joey.

_*Speaking of...*_

"C, where are you headed?" JC's head was down, and his steps were dragging, but he wasn't going to his own room.

"Gonna go check on Joe, Chris." JC didn't even turn around.

Chris opened his mouth, paused, caught Lance's stern eye, closed it again.

"Sleep well, dude."

JC raised a careless hand, and slipped into Joey's room.

_*Wonder what's going on there?*_

"Wonder what's going on there?"

Lance peered down at him.

"Dunno, man, but Joey's straight."

_*But Justin said they were cuddling this morning!*_

"But Justin said they were all cuddly this morning when he went in! And if Jup noticed, you KNOW it must have been some serious cuddly."

"Still. Joey's straight. I just hope JC is being careful, you know, with his feelings and everything. Not that Joey'd ever hurt him on purpose, but..." Lance trailed off, shaking his head.

"Careful Lansten, always looking out for us, huh?" Chris gave him an affectionate squeeze, then let go and shuffled off towards his and Justin's room.

_*Still. JC's about as close to a girl as you can get, without the parts. Wonder if Joey's noticed THAT?*_

He turned around to comment, but Lance was already gone.

***

He woke up with his head pillowed on Joey's chest, a heavy arm draped around his shoulder. He stretched luxuriantly, delighting in the warmth and the Joey and the comfort, and just let himself relax. This whole new Joey...THING...he had was ok, sometimes. Pleasant, in an aching melancholy unrequited kind of way, since Joey was just such an affectionate person, and would hug him and hold him and give him sloppy kisses when he was drunk. He was writing good songs with the heartache, anyway. He frowned briefly into Joey's t-shirt, then sighed.

_*Maybe on the next album...maybe when we're not doing so much electronic stuff. Maybe when Justin isn't quite so infatuated with Wade. Maybe...*_

He heard the door creak open, and scrunched his eyes shut tight. Maybe they'd go away.

"Oh, Jace..." That was Lance's sigh, he knew. He felt a hand on his back.

"Morning, JC. Wakey wakey. Time for more torture. As Justin would say, Wayne pain today."

"'s Joey comin' today?" He mumbled, not moving his face.

"I dunno, C. We'll see how he feels. Get up now, come on. We've gotta be rolling in twenty minutes."

_*I don't wanna get up. Don't wanna. Is Joey still asleep? He must be, he hasn't moved his arm. It's a nice arm. Joe's been looking good lately. Strong and stuff. And I really like the stripes in his hair. I wonder if I should cut my hair? Is it really that long and wierd? Justin says it makes my head look big, but maybe Justin's just trying to get everyone to follow him into military-land. Hee, Lance in uniform! I wonder what we'd all do in the army. I'll bet Joey would look good in-*_

"JC, don't space on me here. We've gotta go."

He jerked up out of his thoughts, met smiling brown eyes and got a squeeze. _*Hey, Joey's up! Hey wait, Joey's up?*_ He was confused. Joey just squeezed him again, dropped a little kiss on the top of his head, and gave him a shove. _*A kiss? Joey KISSED me!*_ He was beaming, he could tell.

"Go on, boy. Get yourself all pretty for the camera. Us gimps'll follow along later." Joe grinned at him.

He bounced out of bed. This was gonna be a good day!

***

"Where's JC? Wayne wants him over on stage 2."

"I dunno, man. Somewhere over with Joe. GIVE me that back, Justin, or I'll whup your narrow white ass so hard..."

 _*Yeah, somewhere with Joe, because they've been attached at the hip all day!*_ "You and what army, ancient one? Mmm. Chocolate."

"JUSTIN! OK, brat, you asked for it..."

_*Hee! Chris is never gonna catch me again. WHOA! Look out...dayum...oh, hey, there's JC!*_

"JC! Help me help me! I'm being attacked by a crazy old dwarf!" He hid, giggling, behind the chairs JC and Joey were sitting in, dodged around, evaded a grasping small hand, and went sprinting into the warehouse set.

 _*Hey wait! Chris isn't following me! This isn't any fun if Chris isn't playing too.*_ He stopped, wandered back out, saw Chris hunkered down with a hand on Joey's knee. Joey was a little pale, from the pain maybe, and his eyes were dull from the drugs.

"You weren't supposed to be on it this much today, Joe." Chris, in a rare moment of seriousness.

"Hey, couldn't let Wade steal ALL my thunder." Joey was grinning, but Justin could tell he was really wishing he was back in that bed right now.

"Hey Joey." He draped an arm around Joey's neck. "How you holding up, Supe?" He hoped Joey didn't want to go back. It was just wierd, trying to work without him there.

"Oh, you know, nasty-ass pain in the leg, can't see cause I'm so doped up, watching someone else wear my clothes. It's great." Joey shook his head, grunted. "S'okay, though. I'll be ok. When are we filming that shit on the stage again?"

"About two hours, maybe a little longer. You did good on the green screen, man. I was so impressed." He really kind of was. Almost an hour of dancing, even if he wasn't moving his legs much, and all the costume changes.

"Aw, Jup. You're too kind. C helped me out, man, couldn't have done it without him." JC ducked and bushed. Joey startled Justin completely by grabbing JC's hand and giving it a little squeeze. _*Surprised himself, too. Look at that face he's making! Huh.*_ Chris snickered, stood up, and grabbed Justin by the back of the neck.

"Caught you, infant! Now, weren't we talking about my chocolate a minute ago?" Justin yelped, and bucked off Chris's hand, and fled.

***

Between the extras he'd distracted himself with and the women currently draped all over him, Joey'd been in worse video situations before. That fucking train, for one. His eyes kept straying up to the main stage, though, where Chris, Justin, Wade, Lance and JC were going through the motions while Wayne got his last extra shots and all of Joey's scenes. _*Good thing I'm getting filmed from up there, or this would look way weird.*_ He made his growling face, sang verse two, heard "CUT!", slumped back and stared back at the stage. Shit, JC looked good in that shirt. Skinny little fucker that he was, too, but that shirt was hot.

"Roll playback!" and they were dancing up there for real now, and wasn't it just the biggest mindfuck in the world to be watching them dance, watching them PERFORM, without him. Made him feel a little sick. _*Maybe that's the pain pills. Maybe I should lay off. Nah. I'm almost screaming now, and I've still gotta dance up there. I've still gotta GET up there.*_ He gave the ramp a dubious look, considered, and downed another one, dry.

Yeah, JC was pretty damn hot up there. Lance was dancing good, Justin still had all that energy, and Wade...well, he wouldn't think about that. _*Talk to the camera, yeah, don't think about that too much.*_ But Jesus, Jace. He was like a living sex act. Joey shifted a little uncomfortably, remembering waking up with that warm body all curled up against him. * _Twice, Joe. Once is explainable, twice is questionable. And don't go thinking it was the drugs either, you big whore. Oh great, now I'm calling MYSELF names. Good thing I've got a decent tolerance for pharmaceuticals by now. These things are putting me RIGHT out of my skull.*_

Everything was getting nice and fuzzy now. Token protest to the digusting sweaty clothes--"You fuckers, couldn't track down another orange SHIRT, for fuck's sake? What's the budget on this video anyway?"--long scary walk up to the stage. Dancing. He was actually moving ok. Couldn't feel his legs at all, really, which was a HUGE improvement. Thank God for Wade and endless rehearsals, because he could do this routine in his sleep. Even the funky little head/hand flip. Oh yeah. Aaaaaaaannnnnddddd....CUT!

Joey just stood still for a minute, dripping. Apparently the dancing had been a poor activity choice just then, because the throb was making itself felt again. Wayne was saying nice things, he could feel Justin hugging him, but he really. wanted. to. sit down.

So he did, and grinned, because he'd done it. Screw Wade, screw the trapdoors, screw the fact that he'd have to walk back down that fucking ramp. And yep, there was JC, all flushed and flustered, easing down beside him. _*JC, you are officially fucking with my head now. Please feel free to continue.*_

***

 _*This would be freaky if it weren't so darn cute.*_ There was JC, showered and changed and almost asleep. And there was Joey, also all cleaned up, head resting comfortably in C's lap, sprawled all over the back seat of the SUV for the long ride back to the hotel. JC's thumb was running back and forth over Joey's collarbone. Joey was, for all intents and purposes, down for the count.

And here was Lance, who had refused to ride with Justin and Chris, who were both in the utterly manic stages of exhaustion, for fear of being subjected to either bodily harm or more rambling Confucianisms.

 _*Whatever.*_ Lance had had a nap that afternoon at the insistence of Justin, who had said "you're TRANSPARENT, dude, now go sleep or I'll knock you out" and who had stood with folded arms and the glare that made Lance giggle, until he'd gone off as told. So he was feeling pretty ok. He looked at the pair across from him.

 _*They're just...adorable. JC adores Joey, and Joey loves to be adored, so hey. Maybe. More power to 'em, I guess. Oh, DARN. Gotta call Meredith! And James! And mom. Definitely mom, she's called about Joey three times today. WHOA! Did Joey just kiss JC's leg? I think he did. I'm pretty sure he did.*_ Lance could feel himself blushing. The bane of his existence, that blush. He blushed on Leno, on TRL, pretty much everywhere. Darnit.

***

The kissing had started at Joey's door, JC thought, though he wouldn't argue if someone wanted to cast a vote for the elevator. Chris had squeaked at them at some point in the elevator, anyway, and had put his hands over Justin's eyes, and JC thought it might have been because he'd been finding out that Joey tasted like musk and cinnamon.

 _*Musk and cinnamon and me, now, and GOD, Joey, ooooh, yeah, whoa...*_ Big hands tangled his hair, and pulled back his head, and he arched wanton as Joey licked the long line of his throat, one broad sweep of hot and wet that made him dizzy. Two of JC put together would make a Joey, and he felt small and delicate and beautiful like this. _*Flexible dancing, right...*_ he hitched one leg up over Joey's hip, standing pressed against the door, and tried to crawl into Joey's skin.

***

_*WHOA*_

Joey pulled back, for just a second, and took stock. _*OK, I'm kissing JC, and it's the hottest thing EVER. Check. He's panting and looking a little desperate and staring at me with those HUGE eyes. Check. He's hard. Check. I'M hard. Check. Ok. All systems go. Hey, I'm mackin' it with a teen heartthrob! Go me!*_

Joey grinned, shook his head at the question in JC's eyes, and sucked JC's tongue back into his mouth. Oh, YEAH. Slim arms around his neck, and sexy little gasps for breath in his mouth, and if there was a hard bulge where he was used to feeling softness against him, well, Joey'd always prided himself on being a flexible kind of guy. And this was JC. He loved JC. He LOVED JC. He ran his hands down ribby sides, drew the shirt with them when he brought them back up, and there was skin for him to play with. He bent his head, licking at JC's collarbone, clean sharp line of bone like a wing, beautiful, and JC was LETTING him, and it was blowing his mind. Letting him? There were greedy hands in his hair, and JC's hips had started a slow easy grind against his, reminding him that yeah, there were two dicks involved here, and they were both liking this new contact, and Joey was suddenly finding it a little hard to breathe.

JC's hands were restless under his t-shirt now, running flat palms up his spine, scraping nails down, making Joey shiver and moan. _*Oh, man, he is GOOD at this...who knew Spacey Jacey had it in him? I can't believe I spent six years NOT doing this. I am such a fuckin' tool.*_ Shirt off, right.

***

 _*Oh, skin. Lots of smooth skin. Joey skin, and it feels SO good.*_ He ran his hands over Joey's chest, hard muscle and light crisp hair, over Joey's shoulders, down to his fingers where he twined their hands and reached his tongue out, delicately, to taste.

 _*This can't be real. He can't be letting me do this, he can't be making this noise, I can't have his nipple in my mouth, this can't be happening.*_ He pulled back, looked up, saw a wet panting mouth, heavy eyes _*heavy eyes? Is it the drugs?*_ and he felt a shiver of apprehension.

"Joe?" His voice sounded uncertain in his own ears.

"JC?"

"Is this...what...do you really want to be doing this?"

Joey jacked his hips into JC's, making them both gasp.

"Whaddaya think, Jace?"

But JC was feeling stubborn.

"Joe, I mean. The painkillers, and you're really tired, right? So, like, I don't know. Maybe." JC was having trouble making sense, which he knew was not unusual for him, but usually it wasn't because Joey was toying with the button of his jeans.

"JC."

He looked up, a little hopeful, and saw smiling happy Joey, the one he'd known for six years and loved for one. Totally unfazed. Nothing bugged Joey, and Joey did nothing he didn't want to do, and JC really should have remembered that. He sighed in relief, and let himself go liquid in Joey's arms.

***

JC gave him that smile, the one that was sweetness and light and scrunched up eyes, and Joey just MELTED. Right then and there. _*Oh boy. Joe's got it bad. Damn. Hello alternative lifestyle, here I come.*_ He really really wanted to scoop JC up and haul him off to bed, but he was pretty much standing on one leg as it was, and he didn't want to push his luck.

"JC..." mumbled into a kiss, and wasn't that sweet? "JC...bed..." He tried to step back, wobbled, and got caught around the waist. JC was laughing at him. Laughing! "When I get better, I'm so throwing you over my shoulder and hauling you off somewhere, but right now...a little help?"

"Oooh, very manly, Joe. Here. Easy. ACK! JOEY!" Joey overbalanced them, and tumbled them down onto the bed, and JC landed on him, and they were both laughing, and there were way too many clothes here. _*I can fix that. Joey Fatone, clothes-remover extraordinaire! Can get a girl out of her jeans in four seconds flat! Wonder if that works for boys, too. Hey, it does. Cool.*_ And there was naked JC, lying on top of him looking startled, in an adorable sort of way. _*Hah. They never expect the Fatone skills.*_

***

JC felt skinny and kind of vulnerable now, instead of sexy and lean and pretty like before. He was all naked, and Joey was not. Joey wasn't doing much besides sweeping a hand up and down his back, though, and giving him little butterfly kisses, and he started to relax. Joey knew what he was doing. Ooooh, Joey REALLY knew what he was doing. Didn't he?

"Joe?"

"Do you always talk this much during sex?" Joey didn't take his mouth from JC's neck as he spoke, and JC shivered at the buzz of his lips.

"Um. I think so. Probably. Yeah."

"OK. What then?"

"Have you done this before?"

"Sex? JC, where have you BEEN for the last six years?"

"NO. Not, I mean. Um. Like, you know. Like this?"

Sigh.

"With another guy, you mean?"

JC nodded.

"Nope." Joey ran a finger down his cheek, and it was gentle and perfect and made JC hitch a breath. "Have you?"

"Not...not really. Like, maybe a blowjob?"

"Maybe? Were you there?"

"Yeah."

"And was there a guy sucking your dick?"

BLUSH

"yeah."

"So, no maybe. Blowjob for sure." Joey was twinkling at him again.

"okay."

"I'm pretty sure the basic rules still apply, Jace. Just do what feels good, ok?"

"OK. Joey?"

"Yes, JC?"

"Can I. Um. Do that to you?"

"Like I'm gonna say no. Have at it, C. I'm all yours." Joey spread his arms extravagantly wide, and bumped JC off his legs with a little hitch. JC grinned, and went to work on button and zipper.

_*whoa.*_

Joey was really hard. And kind of big. And REALLY hard. Looked good though, and JC ran a finger up the length, just kind of testing the waters. Every muscle in Joey's body went tense. _*hey! He liked that.*_ He bent his head, peering through long strands of hair, and licked. Just once. Joey tasted hot and salty, and that was DEFINITELY a moan, and when he glanced up, Joey had his hands in fists at his sides, and his eyes were squeezed shut.

 _*OK. What do I like? Think, JC. Well, there's THAT...*_ He dropped his head, took the whole tip into his mouth, and sucked lightly, rubbing the top of Joey's thigh with one hand. Joey seemed to be breathing all funny now, and JC grinned around his cock. This was just. so. cool. He let his tongue swirl around the head, bobbed his head down a bit further, and got a nice little rhythm going. Joey was twisting against him, moaning in a low voice, nonsense words, though he sometimes could make out a "JC" and a "good" and the occasional "GOD." He knew better than to take too much on the first try, but Joey seemed ok with that, more than ok, actually, as he grabbed JC by one shoulder and hauled him up his body and bucked into the slick smoothness of the hollow of his hips, once, twice, and screamed low, and came.

***

_*OH. MY. GOD.*_

No other thoughts, during three minutes of shivering and kissing.

_*Oh my god.*_

More kissing. JC tasted so sweet.

JC was just shaking himself to pieces right here, and making that deep sexy moan, and trying to move, desperate in the cage of Joey's hands and arms. Their legs were all tangled together, and JC was pretty much stuck, and HARD, Joey could feel it against him, hot and heavy, and he wasn't letting JC move even a little, and wasn't that kind of mean? Yeah. Well.

 _*Just...THERE.*_ He shifted both of JC's delicate wrists to one hand, holding them up and away from them, licking and sucking at JC's lower lip, feeling the flicker of a wet tongue against his mouth. Any other night, after any other day, and he'd be ragingly hard again already, but he could feel the sparks of exhaustion behind his eyes, and the drugs were making his head a little swimmy again. His free hand wormed down between them, and felt burning skin, and JC said "oh, oh, Joey, oh," and it was just about the sexiest thing he'd ever heard. One stripping pull, just the way HE liked it, and he hoped JC did too, and then another, and JC was writhing on him in a full-body shudder, all lean and sweat-slick and begging, so one more, and his thumb flicked at the head, and JC was gone, three long pulses that Joey could feel in his palm.

JC dropped his head to his shoulder, still trembling a little, and flushed, and so pretty Joey wanted to cry.

"Hey...C...you ok, man?"

He could feel JC's lips move into a smile against his bare skin. They were gonna have to move soon, to wipe down at least, but right now this felt too good.

"Yeah." Sighing sleepy voice. "I'm good, Joe."

"JC?"

"You always talk this much after sex, Joey?"

Joey thumped him on the shoulder, but not hard.

"Yeah. So. Thanks. You know, for taking care of me today. And yesterday. Thanks."

"Anytime, Joe. You know that."

***

Cautiously, testing for sound, Chris and Justin took the pillows off their respective heads. Silence. Blessed silence. They glanced at each other. OH yeah. JC and Joey were SO gonna hear about this tomorrow.

[the end.]


End file.
